> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.duckie.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Guardrails, Escalation, and Human Review > Know when Duckie should continue, stop, ask for approval, or hand off to a teammate Duckie can handle routine work directly, but some conversations need firm boundaries or a human decision. Guardrails define those boundaries. Escalation hands work to a teammate. Human review lets people inspect sensitive responses, actions, and outcomes before or after they affect customers. ## Key Concepts | Concept | Meaning | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Guardrails** | Safety rules that define what Duckie should not do and when it should involve a human | | **Restrictions** | Hard limits for topics, claims, or actions Duckie should avoid | | **Escalation Rules** | Conditions where Duckie should hand the conversation or decision to a human | | **Human Review** | A broader pattern that includes escalations, approvals, testing review, and run audits | | **Approvals** | A way to let Duckie prepare sensitive work while a person approves or rejects it before it happens | | **Testing** | A safer deployment mode for reviewing behavior before Duckie responds live | ## When to Escalate Escalate when the customer or situation requires human judgment, authority, or empathy: * The customer explicitly asks for a human or manager. * The customer is angry, abusive, or highly frustrated. * Legal, regulatory, chargeback, PR, safety, or compliance concerns come up. * Identity, account ownership, privacy, or account deletion is involved. * Duckie has low confidence, missing information, or conflicting evidence. * The request falls outside policy or needs an exception. * A high-value, VIP, wholesale, or urgent case needs special handling. * A tool fails repeatedly or the next step could affect money, access, data, or customer trust. ## Restriction vs Escalation vs Approval | Use | When | Example | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Restriction** | Duckie should avoid a topic or action but may continue helping | Do not promise refund amounts outside policy | | **Escalation Rule** | A human should take over the conversation or decision | Escalate if the customer threatens legal action | | **Requires Approval** | Duckie can prepare the action, but a person should approve it before it runs | Issuing a refund, changing account data, submitting an external claim | ## Human Review Patterns | Pattern | How to use it | | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Pre-launch review | Use Test > Playground, Test > Replay Chats, and Test > Batch Test to verify responses, guardrails, and edge cases | | Safe rollout | Start deployments in Testing with Internal notes only and No write actions before switching to Live | | Conversation handoff | Use the Escalator tool when Duckie should pass a case to a teammate with context and a clear reason | | Sensitive action approval | Mark tools as Write Action and enable Requires Approval so a teammate can Approve or Reject before the action runs | | Ongoing audit | Review Analyze > Runs, especially runs with Escalated resolution or Waiting for Approval status | | Continuous improvement | Use escalations, failed runs, approval history, and knowledge gaps to refine guardrails, guidelines, knowledge, and instructions | ## Examples * If a customer asks to speak to a person, Duckie escalates instead of continuing the conversation. * If a customer asks for a refund outside policy, Duckie explains the policy and escalates if an exception is needed. * If a customer reports unauthorized account access, Duckie stops routine troubleshooting and hands the case to a human. * If Duckie prepares a sensitive account update, a teammate reviews the action before it runs. * If Duckie cannot find a confident answer after checking company docs, it asks a clarifying question or escalates with context. ## Related Docs Configure escalation rules and restrictions. Define when Duckie should hand off. Use Escalator, Ask and Wait, and Responder. Review escalations, approvals, tool calls, and outcomes.